House of the Dragon: Is a Fan-Favorite Dragonrider Being Kept Off the Show?
Sheepstealer has arrived on House of the Dragon, but where is Nettles?
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2! Continue reading at your own risk... Sunday night's new episode of House of the Dragon delivered a major tease regarding the dragon known as Sheepstealer, one of the beasts that helps turn the tide of the war and has gone unmentioned to this point. The news of a wild dragon killing livestock in the Vale was undoubtedly exciting for fans of George R.R. Martin's books who have been hoping to see the creature on TV, but the hints about Sheepstealer have also made the absence of a key human character even more frustrating and confusing. Is Nettles going to be on House of the Dragon at all?
If you're not familiar with Fire & Blood, Nettles is one of the four Dragonseeds, who bond with the riderless dragons and help Rhaenyra take the fight to the Greens. Three of those Dragonseeds — Hugh, Ulf, and Addam — have been appearing throughout House of the Dragon Season 2. Nettles, arguably the most popular of these new riders amongst book fans, is nowhere to be found. In Fire & Blood, the young drifter bonds with the wild dragon Sheepstealer and becomes a key part of the war.
For a while, it seemed as though both Nettles and Sheepstealer might have been completely written off, with neither being mentioned or appearing throughout House of the Dragon's second season. After all, every other known dragonseed had a corresponding dragon that was already a part of the show. The addition of Sheepstealer in this week's episode makes it clear that four new dragons will enter the fray, but Nettles is still not around to ride it.
Rhaena and Rhaenyra haven't been seeing eye to eye
- HBO)It could be that Nettles will be making a last-minute debut on House of the Dragon, arriving just in time to tame Sheepstealer and become a Dragonseed. Judging by the way the show has handled the other three, however, it seems more likely that Nettles may be replaced with another character.
In that increasingly likely scenario, it feels like Rhaena will be adopting Nettles' story as her own. There has been a lot of discussion throughout the season regarding Rhaena's inability to bond with a dragon, and she's the only potential dragonrider anywhere near Sheepstealer. It would make perfect sense for her to mount the wild dragon and return to Rhaenyra's side as a formidable ally.
The only frustrating part of this scenario is that it means Nettles was ultimately cut from the story. To many longtime fans, that's going to be a real bummer.
Based on George R.R. Martin's "Fire & Blood" book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.
The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D'Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower.
